But it could also have referred to the family's other legacy: addiction.

Cameron, 30, was arrested Friday at the upscale Hotel Gansevoort in Manhattan and faces federal charges of methamphetamine-dealing, according to The Associated Press.

It's not his first run-in with drugs. In 2007, Michael Douglas' only child from his 22-year marriage to ex-wife Diandra Douglas was arrested in California on cocaine possession charges. Cameron pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.

Earlier this year, Cameron was evicted from his $4,200 a month home after falling behind on his rent. His landlord told Star magazine that he left behind a mess of drug paraphernalia.

Michael Douglas' representative declined to comment to ABCNews.com about the actor's son.

Cameron's drug problems, while sad, are not surprising. When it comes to addiction, the apples usually don't fall far from the tree.

"We have very good evidence that heredity plays a significant role," Dr. Timmen Cermak, president-elect of the California Society of Addiction Medicine, told ABC News.

In 1992, Michael Douglas went to rehab for alcoholism. In 2004, his half-brother, Eric Douglas, died of a drug and alcohol overdose at the age of 46.

Kirk Douglas, the 92-year-old patriarch of the family, addressed the pain of losing his son in 2007.

"My wife Annie and I discuss it. We know for years and years we tried to do everything we could," he said. "But nothing helped."

"[Addiction] runs in families," Tatum O'Neal told People magazine last year after she was arrested for allegedly trying to buy crack cocaine on a New York street corner, nearly ruining her yearlong sobriety.

O'Neal should know. Her famous party-boy father Ryan O'Neal, brother Griffin and younger half-brother Redmond have all had problems with drugs.

Tatum with brother Griffin, father Ryan with Redmond

Griffin, in interviews with Vanity Fair and CNN's "Larry King Live," said not only did father Ryan supply the genetic predisposition to drug addiction, he often supplied the drugs themselves. When he was 11, Griffin said Ryan gave him cocaine before they watched a screening of Ryan's film "Barry Lyndon" because "it was a long movie."

Griffin told Larry King that Ryan also fueled Redmond's addiction. "My dad just let him do whatever he wanted to do, supplied him with cash for his drugs, supplied him with everything. It was a losing battle."

He said father and son used to party together and were even arrested together last May. The pair were accused of possession of methamphetamines during a routine check on Redmond, who was on probation for previous charges of meth and heroin possession and a DUI.

Ryan, 68, denied that a vial of methamphetamine allegedly found in his room was his.

"He would never use them," his attorney Mark Werksman told The Associated Press. "We know that when all the facts come out, he should not be charged with any crime here."

But Redmond, who was arrested on a second drug charge weeks later, was sent to jail and is now in a court-mandated rehab program.

Complicating addiction in famous families is the white-hot glare of celebrity.